The Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources hosted the 15^th Session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) for the African Risk Capacity (ARC) from 28^th to 29^th April 2025 in Kigali.

The meeting convened senior government officials, donor partners, and other stakeholders, underscoring Africa’s commitment to innovative climate resilience and disaster risk management, and the critical role of ARC in supporting the continental agenda.

At the meeting’s opening on 28^th April, Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr. Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment to playing a leading role in developing risk solutions for Africa.

He indicated that the level of participation reflects the growing trust and engagement from ARC members. He also highlighted that ARC has a big role in Africa’s disaster risk management ecosystem and called for increased ratification of the ARC treaty and stronger ownership for sustainability of the institution. 

Minister Bagabe added that although Africa faces many challenges including the ongoing impact of natural and other disasters like droughts, floods, excessive rainfall, tropical cyclones, outbreaks, epidemics and earthquakes, there are opportunities to be seized with unwavering commitments in order to protect Africa’s most vulnerable populations and fulfill their aspirations.

Mr. Retselisitsoe Molefe, the outgoing Chairperson of ARC’s CoP, emphasized that the CoP remains an essential platform for Member States to deliberate on disaster risk and epidemic financing and to consolidate efforts to protect the continent’s most vulnerable populations. 

During the 15th ARC Conference of Parties (CoP) in Kigali, former Minister of Trade and Industry in Rwanda Dr. Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze was appointed the Director General of ARC for a term of four years while the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources Dr. Olivier Kamana was appointed Chairperson of the CoP. 

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Kamana, the newly elected Chairperson of the CoP, expressed his appreciation and honor for being entrusted to chair the CoP and he reassured the CoP that Rwanda is committed to discharging the responsibilities of the office with inclusivity, transparency and fairness.

The CoP serves as the supreme decision-making authority of the ARC Group, with responsibility to grant final approval on critical strategic matters that define the organization’s operations after review and endorsement by the Board. Participation in the CoP includes all member states that have signed, ratified, or acceded to the ARC Treaty.

The ARC Agency was adopted by the Plenipotentiaries of the African Union (AU) Member States on 23^rd November 2012.  

Up to date, 39 countries are Members of ARC while 17 countries of them have ratified to the ARC treaty, including: Mauritania, Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Chad, Togo, Guinea, Madagascar, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, Comoros, Cameroon, Mozambique, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The ARC group is a specialized agency of the AU established to help African governments improve their capacities to better plan, and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters. Through collaboration and innovative financing, the ARC group enables countries to strengthen their disaster risk management systems and access rapid and predictable financing when disaster strikes to protect the food security and livelihoods of their vulnerable populations.

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